Lemurs, Chameleons & Golden Plates by Jonathan Neville– New Illustrated Book

It has never been more important to teach accurate Church history to children and young people.

For grown-ups, the Annotated Book of Mormon is an ideal reference. But what about for kids? And what about parents (and grandparents) who read to kids?

Lemurs, Chameleons and Golden Plates is a new illustrated book that teaches faithful Church history from the perspective of African Latter-day Saints in Madagascar. The delightful, colorful illustrations include lemurs and chameleons that engage young readers. As shown in the sample pages below, the book depicts Cumorah in New York. It shows the translation with the Urim and Thummim. It shows missionary and temple work in Africa, generating enthusiasm among kids for their own future missions. It’s a multicultural experience reflecting the international scope of the Church today.

The book includes references to the Joseph Smith Papers and other original sources for adult readers to get more information.

Most books for LDS readers place the Book of Mormon in a Mayan context, with pagan Mayan pyramids, jungles, etc. They teach M2C (the Mesoamerican/two-Cumorahs theory), which claims the prophets are wrong about the New York Cumorah because, according to the scholars, the “real” Hill Cumorah is somewhere in southern Mexico. These indelible images influence children for the rest of their lives. When they eventually discover what the prophets have taught about the New York Cumorah, they become “confused and disturbed in their faith in the Book of Mormon” as Joseph Fielding Smith warned would happen when M2C came to his attention in the 1930s. He renewed his warning when he was President of the Quorum of the Twelve, but the scholars disregarded him. Now, we can all see the results, as so many Latter-day Saints experience “faith crises” that always involve the “keystone of our religion.”

Those with a firm foundation can discern between truth and error. A firm foundation begins at a young age. It is an “imperative duty that we owe to all the rising generation” to teach them what the prophets have taught. We can prepare them for assaults on their faith. Armed with the teachings of the prophets, they can withstand those who claim the prophets were wrong and defend their faith.

Lately, the Gospel Topics entry on Book of Mormon Geography says the Church takes no position on the geography question. Yet every Latter-day Saint today, starting in Primary, will be exposed to M2C. M2C prevails when people don’t know about the teachings of the prophets and all the evidence that supports and corroborates those teachings.

It’s the ideal bedtime story book.

Plus, kids just love to read Lemurs, Chameleons and Golden Plates!